The environmental threat perception in India , was simultaneous with
that of the developed countries of the world . But India lagged behind
in putting forward any system for planned management of its fragile
eco-system that is in constant conflict with the needs of development
.

Indian scenario is bleak , what with all round failures in arresting
the population growth with attendant pressures on land and scarce natural
resources , increasing urbanisation , industrialisation , growth in
rapacious consumption , wasteful life styles and the like . Lack of
technology as well as resources has thrown India into the vortex of
crisis . Result - India has failed to link up its pattern of national
development with environmental concerns .

India started its slow but determined journey toward development after
Independence . The sixties were the decade of miracles , the country
achieving self -sufficiency in food grain production , spectacular progress
in industrialisation especially in infrastructure and having the largest
trained human resources. The miracles of the sixties , however , have
become the nightmares of the nineties. On the 50th year of its independence
India stands exposed to the short - comings of the technology which
aimed at rapid growth without taking into account environmental costs
.

Over the Five decades of planned development in India, the thrust has
always been on economic growth to grapple with age old problems of poverty
and provision of basic minimum amenities. This over concern with property
and property alleviation programmes , understandably so, was reflected
at the UN Conference on Human Environment , held at Stockholm in 1972,
where Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India declared that
‘poverty is the biggest polluter’. She went on to emphasize that ‘the
environment problems of developing countries are not side effects of
industrialisation , but reflect the inadequacy of development .The rich
countries may look upon development as the cause of environment destruction
, but to us it is one of the primary means of improving the environment
for the living or providing food, water, sanitation and shelter or making
the deserts green , the mountains habitable’.[1]

The side effects of such emphasis however, have become major causes
of worry. The key instruments of development - industrialisation , modernisation
, urbanisation et all - have caused unwanted stress and strain on the
environment and interfered with nature’s own balance mechanisms.

Survival dictates that the instruments of development can’ t be dispensed
with . The focus , therefore, need to be shifted to harmonise these
activities with nature to achieve what is called sustainable development.

A conceptual dichotomy defines India’s perception as well as management
of environmental issues . This is inevitable too . Environment threat
perception is highly subjective and variable . It is also a function
of information , perceptual readiness, group pressure , reference groups
, organisational positions, reward systems and past reinforcements .
Environment related decisions are made within the perceived environment
and more often than not , environment conflicts are traceable to differing
perceptions of parties to the conflict arising out of implementation
of environment policies.

In India , coming as it is , into grips, the dichotomous relationship
between westernised models of development and the preservation environment
on the face of its fight against poverty, this conflict exists broadly
on three levels:-

Some castigate excessive concern for environment as a result of conspiracy
of the developed nations against progress in the underdeveloped countries
like India and maintain that India may address issues concerning environment
only after it reaches the level of production and consumption of ‘ the
industrialised nations. Besides, this concern could well retard India’s
development efforts.

Some others feel that concern for environment is bound to divert attention
from the problems of the poor. Environment , to this group has nothing
to do with trying to give a better deal to the large and ever growing
population . Contrarily , it is poverty that creates the tragic consequences
of environment degradation leading to more poverty.

And there are those, who believe that in India at least the very large
and ever-growing population is responsible for the environment crises
. ‘ The sign of environmental stress grow as the......population increases
’ .(2)

While there can be no end to the debate , it remains a fact that ,
development and environment are not necessarily incompatible . As P.V.N
Rao, the former Indian Prime Minister would say at the National Environment
Council meeting , the country need to strike a balance between development
and the preservation of the environment in the interest ,both of environment
as well as development ..... the race for development should not be
a race for destruction .(3) Indian experience confirms that developing
countries have always had dealt with natural environment problems and
the efforts towards awareness generation and implementation of specific
programmes of action are steps in the right direction to avoid the mistakes
the developed countries committed.

In India, most environment related problems thrive on massive ignorance
of the mechanisms of the natural eco-system vis - a - vis over jealousness
in implementation of various development projects that fail to comprehend
the intricacies of complex inter woven life chain . The activities and
concerns are not based on holistic understanding of the relationship
between environment and development process in the country. Rather,
these are based on the belief that the concern for environment , essentially
means its protection and conservation partly from development programmes
, but mainly from the people themselves . However development without
concern for environment can only be short term . In the long run , it
can go on only at the cost of enormous human suffering . Unfortunately,
efforts to modify the development process itself so as to bring it in
harmony with the nature and the people, that sustains ecological balance
along with increasing productivity of land , water and forest resources
are singular in lacking . As a consequence , India after five decades
of planned development, faces both an environmental crisis and a developmental
crisis that interact to reinforce each other . While there seem to be
no end to the problems of inequality, poverty and unemployment on the
one hand , environmental destruction threatens the very basis of existence
of multitude of India’s teeming millions, on the other.

Causes of Environmental Degradation

The Development Dilemma

Indian environmental imbroglio is imbedded in the pattern of national
development that the country gave to itself , borrowing ideas largely
from the developed countries with highest consumerism and wasteful life
styles. It is also the inevitable outcome of the misuse of natural resource
base - soil , forest , water and bio-diversity .This with heavy debt-burden
high interest rates and regressive terms of trade has put enormous pressure
on the country’s natural resource bases, often even to the point of
over-exploitation .

The side effects of modernisation and industrialisation in India are
there for all to see . In their search for cheap biomass based raw materials
and cheaper opportunities for waste disposal, the agents of modernization
and industrialisation destroy environment in big ways. In the absence
of deterrent legislation and executive control attempts to internalise
environment costs are absent , which are passed on to the society.

An overdose of developmental preoccupation is also transforming , steadily
the very character of nature which strike at the root of ecological
balance mechanisms. In physical terms, the tendency is to reduce the
natural bio-diversity, transformations being aimed at inducing high-yielding
mono-cultures. The driving force here is the commodification of nature
without any consideration of the long term sustainability of the new
system .In social terms, the transformation is towards a nature that
is geared to cater to the needs of the industry and the urban community
, a nature that is essentially cash-generating . The manifestations
of such tendencies can be found , among others , in attempts to create
pine forests in place oak in Himalayas, teak in place of sal in Chotnagpur
Plateue, eucalyptus in place of natural vegetation in Western-Ghats,
oil-palms in Great Nicober Islands and rubber in North east . Large
scale mono culture has the potential of destroying the quantity as well
as quality of the top soil essential for survival of plants , would
lead to soil erosion, destruction of soil cover and acidification of
soil culminating in total bareness causing serious damage to the biodiversity
.(4)

It is inevitable that any human intervention resulting in destruction
of an ecological space or its transformation is apt to affect adversely
these who have hitherto been dependent on that space for sustenance.
What one finds in India now is a growing conflict over the use of natural
resources between the cash economy and non-moneytised bio-mass based
substance economy, . Projects are undertaken without social economic
and ecological impact assessment and without understanding their livelihood
of cutting across the needs of the dependant population. Rather consideration
of export and other income generating ventures influence the planning
of various projects. Government programme of afforestation for example
in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh by massive cultivation of olive
trees besides being totally unrelated to the needs of the local population
has eroded pasture and other common village land . In all mining areas
and areas where land comes under submergence on account of irrigation
/ hydroelectric projects as in the past in respect of Hirakud Dam and
now in respect of Sardar Sarovar etc , the tendency has always been
to treat the affected people impediments in the process of development
to be removed at minimum cost..The same has been the case in respect
of projects in the private sector -from Orient Paper Mills to TATA’s
new steel venture at Gopalpur in Orissa .(5)

Thus in India genocide has been inherent in the process of economic
growth , buttressed by the notion that development consists only of
increasing industrialisation, commercialisation , consumerism and synthesisation
with no comprehension of the need to base development on environmentally
sound principles, as well as those social and economic equity .(6) And
the poor inspite of having great stakes in the continued well being
of precious environmental resources for their sustenance have had no
say on shaping the development policies and plans .

Population Growth

(The Population Dilemma)

India stands out in the rate of population growth that has placed enormous
pressures on all life-support systems - land , water, flora and fauna
and the atmosphere. At the current rate of growth India faces the thirty
prospect of doubling of the population within the next half century.
And it has been easy to blame the increasing population for nullifying
the gains the country achieved through post - independence economic
development programmes and for increasing environment destructions.

It is a fact that the continued proliferation of the poor inhibiting
the villages and slums in a need based country like India with diminishing
share in natural resources has led to an extraordinarily intensive use
of resources ; heavy lopping of trees, over grazing, cultivation of
marginal lands, reduced fallow periods while at the same time, the rich
few even though not dependant on the resources of the eco-system live
on an extensive use of natural resources force the poor into a situation
of exploitation of their environment.

The human carrying capacity of supporting eco systems are not unlimited.
Even though the knowledge of the carrying capacity of India’s land is
not clearly determined, it is nevertheless estimated that with known
technology India is in a position to feed atleast two billion more people
. ‘Feeding a growing............population....... is technologically
feasible . But the economic and environmental cost incurred through
bolstering food production may well prove too great......... The course
of events will depend crucially on Government’s ability to design and
enforce effective policies that address the challenges posed by mounting
human numbers, rising poverty and environmental degradation....... the
task ahead will be made more difficult if population growth rate can’t
be reduced’.(7)

The present approach to curb population growth is lopsided , mere diversionary
techniques to cover the major efforts in the fields of sophisticated
curative services . The so-called ‘more of the same’ approach ignores
the political socio-economic and cultural factors . Population growth
and its attendants ills are the results of disturbing slow growth of
Literacy and Science and Technology . If utilised with due circumspection
the same Science and Technology can provide the miliue for controlling
the population growth without disturbing country’s resources and ecology.
For one, providing education, especially to women, adequate health services
and remunerative employment to meet basic needs is the most effective
and more humane method of population control as has been successfully
demonstrated in Kerala. But much remains undone.

Deforestation

( Forests, Deforestation and Bio-diversity)

Among the environmental issues deforestation in India has attracted
maximum concern . Inspite of having big land mass of 329 million hectares,
the per capita forest land in India is only 0.09 hectares and decreasing
rapidly against the world average of 1.0 hectares. The biotic pressures
on forests has increased along with demand for food leading to large
scale deforestation . Besides , due to expanding industrialisation ,
urbanisation , relating to growing population, illegal cutting of forests
and uncontrolled grazing the forest cover is getting reduced and now
stands far below than the ideal 33.33 % , held by ecologist that the
country should have to maintain a resemblance of precious ecological
balance and preserve bio-diversity in its natural element . The forest
cover, despite massive afforestation programmes and tight Government
regulation on projects, now stands at a paltry 22 % of the total land
area including degraded forest land with less than 40 % crown density
and srubland. The dense forest cover stands at about 2 % only . Loss
of forests has led to waste lands, erosion of fertile soil, floods,
drastic lowering of water table increasing the water requirements of
cultivable soil and global warming . It has drastically affected the
bio-diversity and put tremendous pressures on native communities who
have been traditionally dependant on forests for sustenance.

Deforestation, has entailed social, cultural and economic disruption
of tribal population. Government control over forests has meant a reallocation
of forest resources away from the needs of local communities and into
the hands of the urban and industrial India resulting in increasing
social conflict .Pampered by subsidies forest based industries have
only concentrated on making quick profit, in the process wiping out
their own resource base through over-exploitation . The Western Ghats
stand mute witness to this crazy competition , the hill tracts in Western
Mahasrashtra having suffered the most . In many parts only the remnants
of the prestine rain forests survive. Forest authorities all over ,
have been taking a narrow view of the resources, totally ignoring the
value of forests in performing eco-system services or as store house
of genetic resources.

The social and ecological benefits of a healthy forests cover can hardly
be over emphasized . Besides maintaining soil and water condition ,
forests contribute to the maintenance of biological / genetic diversity,
provide fuel fodder and other materials for local communities, supply
wood and raw material for industry, provide non-wood forest produce
for local and national economy. The list never ends.

India boasts of the strictest of legislation to safeguard forest against
explantation. However, lack of political will has helped be unscrupulous
industry and over-jealous bureaucracy to take advantage of the loopholes
leading to a liquidation of the country’s base of natural resources
including its heritage of biological diversity. The biggest grey area
is what is coming under ‘denotification’ of forests under the Wild Life
(protection) Act, 1972, the only law that has been preventing successfully,
forests being encroached upon , and under which core area has to be
left without any human intervention to protect endangered plant and
animal life . What has happened in Gujrat and Maharashtra show that
once industry or tourist resorts are allowed to locate near- or in protected
area , other transgressions can’t be prevented . Result - the inevitable
end of these precious resources which ensure not just the survival of
wild species of flora fauna, but also replenish water resources and
provide food security for future generation by protecting wild genetic
material. The same has been the experience with other projects like
Sardar Sarovar, Konkan Railways, East Coast Road etc.

The prime resource from forests, is not timber as is commonly accepted
, but water. Forest felling reduces the earth’s ability to retain water.
This, with faulty use of the country’s plains, is the root cause of
the increased incidence and intensity of floods and draughts every year
as well as the under performance of many irrigation projects which make
a shamble of the economic projections of the country. The following
list is representative of the character of our planning projects with
consequential impacts on the natural habitation which largely is the
outcome of misuse of the Wild Life [Protection ] Act by denotification.

09. In the Manas Tiger Reserve, Bodo Millitants are looting the forest
by sale of valuable timber and by permitting Rihnos to be killed for
the value of their horns .(8)

The question being asked around : why save wildlife in a country where
people are starving . There are powerful arguments which go beyond the
mere necessity of preservation of endangered species . Using animals,
nature plants its own forests, grasslands and wetlands that are the
crucibles of human civilisation . Animals are part of a larger web of
life . Protection for even a choosen few large denizens of the wild
may bring other gains in its tow. To save the tiger, monsoon forests
are to be protected . The rhino needs its share of mud wallow and grassland
to survive . Each of these habitats has a critical role to play in the
cycles that bind together the soils, the water and flora .(9) Whereas,
apart from their ability to plant forests, no animal, other than homo-sapiens
possesses the technology to destroy forests . At the current rate of
destruction, the earth could well loose almost twenty-five percent of
the 1.4 million species of flora and fauna . The loss of this bio-diversity
might prove to be a greater threat than the termo-nuclear war. The mangroves
on the Indian coasts , for example are the nurseries of the seas . Assault
from pollution and deforestation may well affect the renewable fish
catch .Deforestation moreover, has threatened the Indian valleys representing
some of the country’s most fertile farmlands and most productive forests
with submergence . Similar fate is also meted out to hill slopes . Net
result is that without access to genetic material, found only in remote
habitats , it would almost be difficult to prevent plant diseases from
wiping out the domesticated food varieties leading ultimately to mass
starvation in not so distant future.

The importance of forests as sinker of carbon dioxide or to the tribals
and other native dwellers for basic livelihood has never been understood
in India. The cardinal weakness of the forest management to date , lie
in the failure to specify the competing claims on forest and forest
produce and to prescribe methods of meeting those demands consistent
with environmental sustainability and social justice.(10) Instead there
has been an assignation of overlapping , often conflicting functions
to unitary forest department that has been the prime factor behind deforestation
. Today, as satellite imageries reveal loss of forest on an average
of 1.3 million hectares per year, and a consequent loss of top soil
equivalent to 30 to 50 millions tons of foodgrains a year and as dams
are stilting at much faster rate than envisaged due to the runoff from
deforested hill sides, a shift away from state monopoly becomes an essential
precondition for fulfilling both ecological and livelihood security
.

Mining

Unplanned mining has led to deforestation , disturbance of the drainage
pattern, disturbance to the local inhabitants and their habitats , noise
dust and air-pollution as well as the pollution of the water sources
, lowering the water table , zonal subsidence , loss of soil fertility
besides health hazards both to the workers and the local inhabitants.
(11) More than half the national mining comes from 40 contiguous districts
of Central and Eastern India , the tribal heartland . Several hectares
of good crop and forest lands have been destroyed in this tract by mining
operations and hundred of villages have been depopulated .(12)

Industry

Callous industry and a succession of uncaring Governments with irrational
industrial policies are responsible for a host of environment related
problems, from displacement to all round pollution . Years of intensive
industrialisation has put enormous pressure on country’s cultivated
as well as forest land since nearly half of India’s industrial output
is accounted for by industries which are bio-mass based - cotton , textiles
, rayon paper, ply wood , rubber, soap, sugar, tobacco, jute, chocolate,
food processing , packaging , etc . But that is only the half of the
story .

Every year industries across the country , discharge enough solid
and hazardous waste to fill a pit one meter deep across ninety six square
kilometers . Industries contribute more than a third of poisons that
pour into India’s water systems , stretches of innumerable rivers around
industries today are devoid of life . Effluents untreated and allegedly
treated have increased levels of toxins like Cyanide and Chromium upto
twenty times the safe levels in country’s twenty-two critically polluted
areas . The ground water in these areas contains a smorgous board of
toxic material . Margins of safety are routinely exceeded in multiples
of ten . Wastes from poisonous coal ash to toxic sludge of nearly hundred
millions tones every year are being dumped on public land that thereafter,
leeches into the fewer water people drink and mingles with the air people
breathe .

More than one hundred and sixty-five large industrial complexes out
of a total of one thousand five hundred and fifty-one , today , fail
to meet environmental standards . More damaging is the waste from more
than three million small scale units .

Respiratory ailments have more than doubled in all the major cities
of the country.

In the past three years, more than ten thousand industries nationwide
are either shutdown , asked to move out of the cities or given ultimatums
to clean up , mostly by courts . Corporate India is being dragged to
the alter of pollution control and it is about time .

Government’s philosophy of development is responsible for this sad
state of affairs. While the planners ignored the concerns for the environment
, irrational industrial policies have been making a mockery of the environmental
requirements . Industries were encouraged in areas without any concern
for the pollution load factors of land and water and in sectors i.e.
small-scale where providing pollution control equipment is uneconomical
. Even otherwise, most of the pollution-control equipments are often
useless . Industries shutdown ill maintained effluent treatment units
for ‘ when margins are squeezed pollution control equipment in a prime
target for cuttingly costs .(13)

While most effluent treatment units can be fixed within five to fifteen
percent of the total cost in industries like paper, for down manufacturers
of consumer electric goods and printed circuit boards , the cost can
be as high as twenty-five to forty percent of the total involvement
. Pollution control systems in power stations can cost as high as Rupees
one crore for every megha watt .

The regulatory agencies of the Government i.e. Pollution Control Boards
are ill equipped to fight pollution . They are not involved in making
industrial policy and they are both numerically and technically unable
to enforce the laws against pollution.

There used to be no such things as industrial zones . As and when they
are formed , connivance from regulatory agencies did not stop industries
being set up in residential areas - immigrants setting up plastic units
in the refugee camps as in Ulashnagar, Mumbai in the 1950s and Units
in Delhi residential areas that have been asked by the courts to move
out . ‘ Delhi is becoming a giant factory ’.(14)

During the heydays of the ‘Green Revolution’ India achieved spectacular
increase food crops and helped herself out of a food trap through a
combination of genetic manipulation and chemical inputs . However, the
environmental costs of such technological advances have been enormous
mostly stemming from abuse of pesticides and use of persistent plant
protection chemicals . As pests become resistant to pesticides , the
use of stronger and more harmful chemicals was necessitated . Indiscriminate
use of pesticides led to pollution of soil and emergence of more virulent
pests . Good agricultural lands experienced serious loss of soil nutrients
. The chemicals tended to make their way through the food chain into
people , affecting health .

Today , India’s daily intake of pesticide residues in food is among
the highest in the world , the residue levels in crop samples from grain-rich
Punjab are among the highest in the Country . Surveys by research institutions
have found pesticide residues in milk exceeding tolerance levels . Mother’s
milk too is found to belts be contaminated . Widespread malpractices
make Indian vegetable suffer from a pesticide overload .

Insecticides such as Carbofuran are used to hasten fruiting . Parathion
is sprayed to give brinjal a fresh look . All most all studies in India
show high levels of contaminations in cereals - wheat rice or maze .
Same is the case in respect of fruits .

Precious little is being done to prevent the misuse as the Ministry
of Agriculture promotes the use of pesticides to prevent crop losses
because of damage by pests is estimated to be six thousand crores and
account for a short fall of atleast twenty percent of India’s total
production . Although the ministry , after much pressure , has banned
the use of the DDT for agriculture in 1972 , there is no check to prevent
its misuse by farmers . Efforts to promote integrated pest management
techniques with a mixture of traditional practices and limited use of
pesticides have been too small and lackadaisical to have had major impact
. Much of India’s cultivable land has already been rendered toxic and
it will take years for the pesticides to degenerate into harmless substances
.

There are many controversies and conflicts surrounding irrigation systems
in India and the dam culture that sustains it . Apart from involuntary
displacement , the environmental and financial wastage that the system
procreates are the object of such controversies . Few surface water
irrigation projects covering big and medium sized dams are being completed
in time resulting in the tardy growth and utilisation of the irrigation
potential . A poor choice of projects and inadequate attention to drainage
has resulted in water logging and salinity rendering previous cultivable
land infertile . Over exploration of ground water both for irrigation
and drinking water has led to a sharp fall in water table, threatening
the very availability of water resources for future generation .

Miscellaneous

India’s river system once symbols of purity and life are now foul receptables
of sewage and toxic waste leading to loss of marine ecology , incidence
of disease and death . The prime villains in the sad saga are callous
industries and municipal administrations that discharge untreated sewage
/ effluents . Deforestation looseness the soil and sands in avalanches
of sediment reducing the flow of water . Indian rivers carry five percent
of the world’s river water but -five percent of all the sediments that
go to the ocean . Besides , construction of barrages dams and canals
have drastically cut down the water flows with disastrous consequences
.

Many of India’s large cities grew on river which supplied much needed
water as well as provided easy channel for waste disposal . The capacity
and efficacy of the rivers for flushing out effluents has collapsed
under the pressure of burgeoning population . As the rivers wither away,
millions who depend on them for livelihood are finding their way of
life changing , worse, finding their lives in peril . Each of the thirteen
great river system making up eighty percent of total surface water and
home to nearly eighty-five percent of the population is so polluted
mainly in stretches near towns and industrial that bacteria feeding
on wastes are the only things that have proliferated between twenty
to one thousand times over the safe levels . Contaminated water has
given rise to the incidence of water born diseases . Fish have died
by the millions throwing out traditional fishermen from their occupation
. River water laced with industrial toxins is irrigating farmland .

Seas of waste portend an ecological disaster as industries and Government
conspire to by-pass Coastal Regulation Laws . Unchecked dumping of wastes
into the seas has been a major threat to marine life . India’s seven
thousand five hundred kilometer long coastline has been a crucible of
life . But unceasing flows of sewage and industrial wastes are destroying
fishing and killing entire biological communities . The mangroves along
the creeks and estuaries once the filters for pollutants and nurseries
for fish are now being lost to developers slums and industries which
pour treated and untreated waters into it , killing marine life and
contaminating fish .

In terms of absolute number urban residents make India one of the largest
in the world . While urbanisation in India has impacted well on the
income level employment and production economics , it has also brought
in its own problems of housing , inadequate water supply, sanitation
and waste disposal facilities , congestion , traffic problem , air water
and noise pollution as well as unsafe social environment . So much so
that Indian cities have become inherently unsustainable in environmental
terms .

Municipal bodies all over can no longer cope with urban India’s piles
of garbage with cities churning out enough garbage everyday to fill
up trucks lined bumber to bumper for nearly three hundred kilometers
. Only eight of India’s three thousand one hundred nineteen towns and
cities have full waste water collection and treatment facilities , another
two hundred and nine having partial treatment plants . A third of India’s
urban population have no access to sanitation services . A third of
eight thousand tons of garbage everyday is left unattended festing and
sinking , becoming breeding grounds for diseases . The solid waste management
system in all cities are primitive outdated and inefficient . Combined
with a slothful municipal administration Indian cities are not in a
position to cope with growth in urban population , new and newer kinds
of trash . In metropolitan cities in India , the air one breathes is
so harmful today that one may as well be smoking between ten to twenty
cigarettes every day . A World Bank report reveals that more than forty-thousand
people die prematurely in India because of air pollution ‘ We (Indians)
are being subjected to slow murder ’.(15)

India’s metropolitan vehicular population has roughly tripled since
1990 , a direct result of the failure of the mass transport systems
, The automobile exhausts account for sixty-five percent of air pollution
in all cities . The unrestrained and often illegal spread of urban industries
, most without pollution control devices of any kind also Poisson the
air . ‘ If things are left as they are today , the air in (Indian) cities
will be totally unbreathable’ .(16) By the year 2001 , carbon monoxide
emissions are expected to rise seven times and hydrocarbons manifold
. Other major pollutants will go up . Indian automobile fuel is of poor
quality and contains sulpher which does not burn , despite the best
of combustion engines . Unfortunately also India has been lagging behind
the developed countries in technology upgradation as well as generation
of awareness about the extent of the harm caused by vehicular pollution
. Out-dated technology , poor maintenance , erratic driving , poor traffic
management , a soaring number of new and old vehicles and inefficient
road net-work has turned Indian cities into choking dens of smoke and
pollution . And , though it took years of wrangling and haggling until
emission control standards of vehicles become law in April, 1996 the
norms are lower than planned , largely due to pressures from the auto
industry .

Adding to the respiration woes of the urbanite Indian , is the noise
pollution the main sources of which are automobiles, railways, aircraft,
machines and sirens in industrial areas, public address systems , social
and religious activities etc . In all cities the country over the average
noise levels are in excess of prescribed standards both during day and
night .

Environment Problems As Source Of Social And Political Conflict
And Violence.

The environmental degradation and its impact on people especially those
affected has already been discussed . It is, therefore, not surprising
that all most all the developmental / industrial ventures, be in the
public or in private sectors, are met with stiff resistance . The current
ongoing controversies over Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada , the Kankan
Railways, the East-Coast Road , the Tehri Dam and more recently over
TATA’s proposed steel venture in Gopalpur, Orissa intensive shrimp farming
along the entire coast , Enron project in Maharashtra etc . are but
expressions of concern against possible deleterious impact on ecology
and against dislocation . The protests also emphasise that all development
projects must incorporate environmental and social concerns in the process
of planning design and implementation .

It is a fact that community objections to development or policies that
affect ecology or bio-diversity are essentially expressions of concern
for livelihood . The process , nevertheless , helps preservation of
precious natural resources .

One of the major concerns is displacement especially involuntary displacement
. It is the cost of structural adjustment devolving from projects that
is being thrust upon the people directly affected . In socio-ecological
parlance , displacement can be explained as a consequence of the struggle
for the control of the natural resources - a consequence of the transition
of these resources from being the life-support system of the community
and from an informal economy to industrial and corporate ownership of
the formal capitalist economy .(17) In India , the incidence of displacement
has been fairly high given the number and magnitude of multipurpose
irrigation , industrial and mining projects especially in high tribal
concentrations in the Eastern and Central Indian states of Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh , Orissa and West Bengal.

Consequences of forced displacement in India varied depending upon
the social economic and cultural factors of the displaced persons .(!8)
It has affected the social system resulting in the disorganisation of
the community , collapse of kinship groups , family system and informal
social net work . Even with rehabilitation , displacement remained for
the affected , a traumatic experience with serious psychological , physical
and socio-cultural consequences . Plagued by the ‘ grieving for a lost
home syndrome ’ the oustees found to have gone through the anxiety concerning
the unknown future and the feeling of helplessness at one’s inability
to protect one’s home and the community from disruption .(19) Forced
abandonment of symbolic objects and places such as ancestral shrines
and graves , mountains , water courses and trails have severed the oustee
s’ psychological linkages with past and snapped the roots of their cultural
identity(20) . Illness and morbidity rates have been very high during
the transition period that have even continued for a number of years
following relocation(21) . The cessation of a range of economic , social
and religious activities which were tied to the oustees’ old habitat
has broken the community into factions with loss of leadership in traditional
authority and management systems (22) .

The pattern of resettlement and rehabilitation have always been deficient
and studies reveal that fewer than twenty-five percent of the persons
displaced by development projects were rehabilitated properly . Post
independent India continued with the British system of cash compensation
to the oustees without taking into account the socio-cultural consequences
of displacement upto the eighties in respect of projects in irrigation
power and road construction . This had the inevitable demerit of making
the displaced economically vulnerable , as cash was often used on immediate
social obligations rather than on creation of long-term productive assets(23)
.

In majority of projects , the displaced persons were compelled to change
their occupational pattern and on the face of official apathy, they
have found their own coping mechanisms , invariably of a destructive
nature both to themselves and the environment . This pattern has always
been found to be present in almost all irrigation projects . Case studies
in respect of a few of multipurpose irrigation projects throw light
on the pathetic levels of depredation that the displaced have been subjected
to .

Hirakud Dam - Orissa : After the construction began, complexity began
to creep into the system of the traditional occupation beyond the comprehension
of illiterate tribals and villagers with the result that they became
increasingly vulnerable to exploitation . Most of the oustees were reduced
to a state of landlessness . The rehabilitation involved clearing up
vast areas of rich forests, reclaiming land for cultivation . But the
extremely limited resources of the region put restrictions on the availability
of alternative occupation (24) .

This continued trail of hardship and suffering has been so deeply etched
in the minds of the oustees that a recent announcement of the construction
of the 320 MW hydel project with three giants size barrages across river
Mahanadi near Hirakud Dam has met with strong resentment and protests.

Ukai Dam : The resettlement and rehabilitation of the population displaced
reveal an almost complete lack of approach and inadequate response of
the Government . In the absence of a well planned policy the implementation
were callous and half-hearted . The ignorance about the human and environmental
consequences of involuntary resettlement on the part of the policy makers,
planners and bureaucrats has been conspicuously present (25) .

Pong Dam : The post-rehabilitation scenario has been marked by sporadic
protests because of absence of an alternative plan for resettlement
. To put it in the words of one of the oustees of the project : "
What have we got ? Children of many ousted families have only learnt
to graze cattle . The latter generation will be even worse off . If
Government goes on building dams like this, then the poor and backward
people will die ."(26)

A study by Lokayan on Srisailem Multi-purpose Project reveals that
there has been a tremendous change in the life style and occupation
of the oustees - percentage of large / medium and small farmers decreased
with many of the owner-cultivators becoming agricultural labourers .
In Bethdi Hydro Electric Project in Karnataka , large number of families
once dependent upon forests which they did not own , were left to themselves
to find alternative employment . In many cases the oustees have became
bonded labourers and daily wage earners under timber contractors and
smugglers (27) .

The tussle over the future of the Sardar Sarovar Project continue to
remain in the public eye, the protest movement being spearheaded by
the Narmada Bachhao Andolan gaining in strength . Madhya Pradesh Government’s
demand to lower the height of the dam in order to cut on submergence
and renewed discussions on the power component of the multi-purpose
project and its economic soundness has added to the apprehensions of
ecological disaster of a massive type .

Besides , the ecological cost of the displacement have been enormous
. The disturbance in the bio-diversity entailed by displacement and
consequent eco-imbalance have impacted heavily on the traditional life
pattern . The indigenous groups are being completely swamped by the
immigrants and their resource base and means of livelihood eroded by
depletion of natural resources . The environmentally harmonious ‘eco-system
people’ are being faced with a situation of potential conflict over
a limited resource base on the arrival on ecological refugees from alien
eco-systems displaced due to destruction of their means of sustenance
. Both sets are further threatened by the uncontrolled resources manipulation
of the bio-sphere people . The eco-system people in their natural habitat
have always had a tradition of prudent resources use and evolved indigenous
methods to adopt to the spatial and tempered variations in the environment
. Advent of modern commerce along with the demands of development projects
have taken away the control over their resource base due to over explanation
and depletion . Basket weavers were forced out of their eco-system when
bamboo- the source of their livelihood - disappeared with the advent
of commercialisation . The nomadic sephards were left in the lurch when
traditional grazing grounds were either been brought under the plough
or converted to plantations . Years of planned growth with unplanned
management of natural resources and the eco system has seen to it that
today the country’s resource base is primarily devoted to meet the ever
growing needs of the bio-sphere people having access to the resource
of the bio-sphere through market mechanism .

The destruction of the environment has posed serious threat to marginal
cultures and occupations - tribals nomads, fisherfolk , the worst affected
being women forced as they are in foraging around for fuel fodder and
water that became rarer . It is almost as if all development is ignorant
is women’s need at best , and anti-women at worst , literally designed
to increase their work burden . With deforestation , penetration of
cash economy and male-migration , the women, in all rural cultures especially
in poor landless marginal and small farm families have literally reached
the end of their carrying capacities . No wonder , therefore , that
the so called illiterate women , the prime movers of the Chikpo movement,
are first to grasp with intuitive ease , the elemental truth that natural
resources are as precious as life .

Nature’s children- the tribals, forestry for them being as important
a pursuit as agriculture , have suffered a great deal on account of
massive erosion of forest resources at the behest of industry , irrigation
and urbanisation .

Displacement thus , is an off-shot of the present pattern of development-sophisticated
and technology based and capital intensive geared , mainly to the profit
of the corporate owner (28) . It is a pattern , where technical aspects
of the projects are worked out meticulously , the nature of displacement
and of rehabilitation of financial requirements thereof are often underestimated.
Discontent of the oustees is the inevitable outcome what with no participation
or share in the benefits of the projects that displaces them . Hardship
and resentment have often been the source of disruption , for as the
oustees have to re-establish themselves with resources they are likely
to complain and protest with ever greater frequency .

The most vociferous amongst the protests against environmentally destructive
policies of the government have been the Narmada Bachao Andolan opposing
the construction of multi-purpose project on Narmada River . What began
as a campaign for better rehabilitation for over a lakh of oustees spread
across Gujurat , Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh , has crystallised into
a movement against large dams across the country and centered on questioning
the direction of a development policy which does not weigh the benefits
and costs of projects for the people affected . In respect of Tehri
Dam in Gharwals the Tehri Bandh Virodhi Samiti protested against the
safety of the project after a massive earthquake measuring 6.1 on the
ritcher scale shook the entire region . The Koel Karo Dam in Bihar lying
in the tribal heartland of Jhrkhand area witnessed the refusal of tribal
oustees led by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to move from the area marked for
submergence . There has been resistance to several thermal - Dahnau
near Bombay - and nuclear power projects - Narora , Kakrapara and Kaiga
. Even though in almost all cases the protesters have lost , the protests
themselves have drawn the attention to the destructive aspects of development
which permits the location of a polluting power plant in an ecologically
fragile area .

All protests , however , are not environment oriented strictly . People
may be resisting displacement from their land on which they have survived
so far and not necessarily conscious of the negative aspect of the project
. But the resistance itself has made them appreciate their environment
which they have earlier taken for granted .

The official attitude has always been that India can’t afford the luxury
of environmental protection underscoring the need to develop forests
build roads , provide schools , hospitals , electricity and transportation
for people including the tribals . The standard response of the Government
therefore, has been containment and localisation of discontent , offering
only to ensure that obstacles to development are speedily and cheaply
removed . Expediency rather than moral constitutional and humanitarian
considerations count . The displaced , despite sporadic protests are
typically reduced to helplessness . While the need for irrigation and
power projects roads and railways have never been disputed by the protestees
, what gets emphasised is the fact that such projects must incorporate
environmental and social concerns in the process of the planning and
designing .

The need, therefore, is to undertake resettlement and rehabilitation
and operations for the displaced population with a view to help restore
their life style without affecting social , economic and cultural characteristics
. It is imperative to adopt an integrated approach to resettlement and
rehabilitation encompassing employment in primary, secondary and tertiary
sectors , health , education , housing , transport and communication
, environmental protection and creation of institutions which would
sustain the development of the area and rehabilitated households . Rehabilitating
displaced tribal households would entail guidance on selection of rewarding
occupations . It will also be essential to insulate them from cultural
shock arising out of displacement from native land .

In a significant development , World Bank has formally advocated a
‘land for land’ resettlement plan rather than cash compensation for
the displaced . This is based on a World Bank report which analysed
the psychology of the rural resettlement process in respect of involuntary
displacement and found cases of monetary compensation largely fruitless
. It found that the economies of many village groups were often disturbed
as people were not accustomed to handling large amounts of cash . The
liberal cash compensation were not utilised for productive investment
as it was typically inadequate.(29)

The Government which owns , controls and develops India’s forests ,
dams , power stations , roads , mines and large part of its of industry
instead of being the protector has now emerged as the most dreaded destroyer
of the country’s environment . It has been found to be insensitive to
the impact of environmental degradation on lives of women tribals ,
nomads , fisher folk and others who depend on the environment for survival
. The Department Of Environment - the government’s main instrument for
creating an eco-consciousness both within the government and outside
appears to lack responsiveness , independence , innovativeness and real
power. As a whole, environmental consciousness does not seem to exist
in government policies and programmes at best it exists only at the
highest level - the Prime Minister and the specialised departments (30)
.

The Departments of Forest , Irrigation , Public Works and Industry
concerned with environmental protection and promotion are often blind
to environmental issues(31) . For example , the Social Forestry projects
with considerable international funding support have completely distorted
the outlook of the Department of Forests ; with a strong tendency to
resist any criticism that the policies may be unsound and harmful i.e.
emphasis on plantation of trees like eucalyptus . The Department of
Irrigation continues to construct irrigation headworks and distribution
channels without taking fully into account the damage to the soil through
water logging . There appears to be no attempts to ensure that irrigation
projects are sanctioned only with adequate technical and financial provision
for prevention of damage to soil and environment . The Department of
Industry continues to be unmindful of environmental issues and impacts
on the environment of the industry location . The industrial promotional
and development agencies themselves , have not been acting as watchdogs
of the environment interests . To top the list is the fact that most
of the environment related decisions are enacted by those sections of
the Government which are already innocuous or whose knowledge about
interest in environment is more of academic interest . This outlook
myopia can be understood from the fact that an official in Delhi uses
a shirt made of cotton grown in the fields of Maharashtra heavily sprayed
with pesticides leading to multiple resistance in mosquitoes , uses
electricity from a dam in the Himalayas that has destroyed forests and
blocked migration of fish , writes on paper produced in Madhya Pradesh
by a factory that has polluted the local river and logged forests in
an ever-widening circle disrupting the life of tribals , eats cereals
from Punjab produced using a technology that drain soil fertility and
so on .

What India needs is an independent , innovative, quick-responsive
organisation with overall responsibility and matching authority to coordinate
and supervise all activities in the country having bearing on the environment
(32) . The beginning should however be from a desire to implement various
laws and regulations strictly . Formulation and implementation of comprehensive
policies , opening up of the information network , greater sympathetic
understanding of the views and cultures of affected persons and rejection
of a unidirectional path to development are few of the other imperatives
of the day (33) .

As bio-diversity and environment are inter related , there is also
a need for conservation of total biological heritage of the subcontinent
which shall include cultivated varieties of the traditional crops, indigenous
strains of domesticated animals , tribal life styles and expertise of
traditional artisans in addition to natural eco-systems . Bio-sphere
reserves can be set up as buffer zones between plantations and natural
forests to shield the latter from the destabilizing influences and exploitative
pressures of the latter . In the long run when the people come to enjoy
the tangible benefits of the protecting nature through participatory
effort they will be truly convinced of the need to protect the bio-sphere(34)
. It would not be out of place here to mention India’s obligation to
promote in in-situ conservations of national living resources in their
natural habitat as per the Bio-diversity Convention . Article 8 of the
Convention requires that a system plan based on surveys of bio-diversity
be worked out at the national level in such a way as to ensure that
the protected area network is indeed truely representative of the range
and diversity of each country’s flora and fauna and their natural habitat
. In India , where the pressure on land is particularly intense and
growing , the point of departure for a new conservation strategy would
essentially be an appraisal and evaluation of the existing protected
area net work .

It is felt that the ‘eco-system people and the ecological refugees’
must have their resources they need from environment they are familiar
with . If empowered , they could well work towards sustainable resource
use . The attempts in this direction- village forest protection committees
in West Bengal and in Orissa have been found to be highly encouraging
as models for the joint forest management schemes(35) . Thus , the current
system of centralised bureaucratic apparatus must be replaced with a
decentralised system of decision making in which local communities are
vested with public funds to use for natural resource development . For
this purpose, the reorganised Panchayati Raj system in India should
be used as an ideal launching pad . This decentralised grassroot administrative
apparatus need to be linked to programmes like ‘Land and Water Literacy
Programme’ initiated in four districts by Bharatiya Gyan Vigyan Samiti
as part of post literacy activity’. The programme which visualised involvement
of people from local communities in mapping land , water , vegetation
, habitation , etc. can be used in problem areas such as gully erosion
, water pollution , ground water depletion and invasion of weeds in
a highly site-specific fashion to help deciding on appropriate developmental
intervention(36) .

A number of enactments both at the national and state level regulating
some or other aspect in respect of environment have been in existence
in India . But specific laws to control environmental degradation have
been slow in coming , partly because of inadequate appreciation of environmental
problems and partly because of wrong notions about legislative competence
. The country today has a good number of laws , some the toughest in
the world to deal with issues concerning environment - the Wild Life
(Conservation) Act, 1972 , the Water ( Prevention and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1974 and 1977, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1981, the Indian Forest Act, 1972 and the like . The Bhopal incidence,
1984 exposed the Government to the inadequacies of those legislations
in containment of environmental degradation . As a Government of India
Committee pointed out :- ‘May environmental laws are outdated .........Environment
legislations lacked statements of explicit policy objectives.......are
mutually inconsistent..... lack adequate provisions for helping the
implementing machinery . The Government of India thereafter brought
in the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which brought hazardous substances
under its preview .

But , despite a plethora of environmental laws constitutional directives
and setting up of Pollution Control Boards all over the country , the
success in curbing environmental degradation has been quite negligible
. The weakest link in country’s regulatory mechanisms is the loose administrative
arrangements for monitoring and enforcing environmental standards .
This with lack of commitment and enthusiasm of governments to achieve
better standards has left enactments virtually toothless . Major reason
for this lack of success has been the conventional regulatory approach
. Many a times political and other factors prevent enforcement of pollution
standards .

Environment laws are part of social legislation and they call for active
participation and commitment from all concerned (37) . There is therefore
, a need to supplement the regulatory mechanism with economic instruments
like pollution charges subsidies , enforcement incentives , marketable
permits and deposit / return schemes etc. The advantages are several
the major thrust being development of cost effective technologies to
reduce pollution and generate revenue to finance monitoring and enforcement
cost . Example : the increase in energy cost with low interest loans
from financial institutions that has led to a large scale adoption of
membrane technology in the manufacture of costic soda .

Similarly it is also necessary to make Environment Impact Assessment
study compulsory for all projects especially highly polluting industries
as has been done in respect of all industries covered by Water and Air
Pollution Acts as well as those covered by hazardous wastes handling
acts .

It is imperative that industrial operations are given retrospective
scrutiny . The techno- economics of projects need to take in to account
the physio-chemical-biological matrices of environment as well as all
living beings within , trees included . Energy efficient, resources
effective , waste controlled , pollution free , occupationally safe
production techniques are the requirements of the day . ‘ the social
responsibilities of ..... industrial enterprises should now extend even
beyond serving people , to the environment (J.R.D. TATA) . Preventive
environment management rather than the end of the pipe cleaning approach
must guide industrial policies and ventures. Industries need to emulate
environment management system that held comply environmental policies
and better management technologies and human and financial resources.
I.S.O. 14,000 series for example is extended to provide standardisation
in environment management. I.S.O. 14001 contents requirements that aim
to achieve continuos improvements in emission standards waste management
committing corporates to environment policies for sustainable socio
economic development .

The only silver lining in the entire gamut of environmental legislation
and enforcement has been the initiative and pivotal role taken up by
the Courts in India especially the Supreme Court of India in laying
down foundation of environmental jurisprudence. In a spate of cases
brought through public interest litigations the Courts have taken upon
themselves the task of expanding the article 21 of the Indian Constitution
by interpreting that right to Life includes Right to live in a healthy
environment . The judgement of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Damodar
Rao Vs. S.O. Municipal Corporation, Hydarabad , the Court rulled that
the enjoyment of life and its attainments and fulfillment guaranteed
by the Article 21 of the Constitution embraces the protection and preservation
of natures gifts without which life can not be enjoyed . The slow poisoning
caused by environmental pollution should also be regarded as violation
of Article 21 . Expanding on the idea further , The Supreme Court of
India in a case in respect of quarries in Dehradun observed that preservation
of the environment and keeping the ecological balance unaffected is
a task which not only Governments but also every citizen must undertake
. It is also the social obligation and every citizen is reminded that
it is his fundamental duty as enshrined in Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution
. In M.C. Meheta Vs. Union of India involving gas leak in Delhi the
Supreme Court not only widened the scope of Article 21 by including
in it the protection of environment but also created a liability in
tort for those harmed by pollution . It laid down the principle that
industry carrying hazardous and inherently dangerous activities that
are a threat to security of those living around it owed a strict and
absolute liability and non-delegable duty to the community to ensure
that no accident of occur. If accident do occur the enterprise has an
absolute liability to compensate those affected by it . The social cost
for carrying on such hazardous activities for profit is a legal presumption
that the industry will compensate . It also directed District Collectors
to ensure exhibition of slides on environmental pollution in cinema
halls and video parlours as condition for issuing license and Door Darshan
and A I R to produce programmes with messages on environment to generate
awareness . Education Boards are directed to enforce compulsory education
on environment at school / college level . It desired the Government
to set up environment courts for speedy disposal of problems relating
to health , sanitation , water , land and air quality and industrial
nuisance .

Though the judicial process is fast emerging as an important forum
to seek remedial justice in India against environmentally hazardous
activity there is need to evolve an enlightened public opinion . Initiative
of a handful of public spirited concerned individuals and groups and
a watchful judiciary might have shaken the Government from apathy in
implementing the laws while its own agencies slept . But the fact remains
that legal and bureaucratic means can not bring permanent solutions
to human problems. Community incentives in dealing with environmental
problems not only represent the best of democratic traditions in India
but also suggest the direction that Government policy ought to decide
how best to use and conserve the natural resources .

A development process that needs to be in harmony with the environment
ultimately demands a new culture . This is the area in which voluntary
agencies has emerged in India , as the harbringers of change . ‘The
non-governmental organisations have given the environment it dynamism
and vigour’(38) . In fact , the growth of people’s movements on environmental
issues have been a marked feature in recent years . The agencies especially
those working at the grassroot level , have taken over the responsibility
of bringing about an eco-consciousness and have been playing a pioneering
role in developing alternate models of equitable and sustainable use
of natural resources built around people’s participation and control
. Given India’s reasonably open society , the Government is not in a
position to ignore the voluntary sector even though may a times their
programmes of action are in conflict with government policies .

The perception and activities of the agencies have been varied from
an emphasis on the need to conserve and protect the natural environment
(conservationists) at the one end to concern for the environment within
the overall frame work of development policy as only sustainable and
equitable on the other . There are groups that oppose all modern technology
and development considering them inherently destructive . Others advocate
alternate models that meet the needs of both the growing modern economy
and an increasingly fragile eco-system . While the former would fight
against the construction of all large dams like in Narmada , the later
would adopt a more pragmatic approach arguing for a lowering of the
height of such dams so that the area of submergence and the extent of
displacement is greatly reduced .

The agencies’ approach also ranges from hostility against state actions
to co-operation to a limited extent ; from interventionism with a desire
to influence the Government’s policies to micro-level involvement for
eco-generation .

The activities of voluntary organisations involved with issues concerning
environment include , environmental education , collection , analysis
and dissemination of information , mobilisation and organisation of
public opinion against policies and projects having deleterious impact
on the environment as well as on the dependent population and wherever
necessary seeking redressal through judicial intervention . The actions
mainly are aimed at the amelioration of environmental problems leading
to newer models of resource management and popular participation .

Voluntary environmental groups however , work with a series of constraints
ranging from the lack of trained manpower to carry out in-depth tecno-economical
analysis , lack of access to authentic data from official sources in
projects and programmes with implications for the environment to lack
of statutory support and judicial sympathy for efforts to fight against
the agents of destruction . Nevertheless , the agencies have been instrumental
in demonstrating the importance of empowerment of the people to decide
how best to use and preserve their natural resource base through decentralised
planning and governance .

It is therefore , important that the government must build links with
non governmental organisations and enlist their support in creating
the awareness to ensure that development does not result in environmental
degradation . The establishment of ‘Rashtriya Paryavaran Salhakar Samiti
(National Environmental Advisory Committee) within the Deptt. of Environment
, consisting of representatives from voluntary agencies to keep the
government informed about peoples’ problem and emerging issues is a
step in the right direction .

In the ultimate analysis , unless there is partnership with the public
, none of the objectives of development will be fulfilled . A Government
will be environment conscious to the same degree as its people . It
is peoples’ audit or concerns that alone will ensure the country’s environmental
survival (39) . The greater the partnership between the people and the
government , the greater will be the chances for the environment to
survive even of appropriate government response to ensure that survival
.

Unless India recreates nature on a massive scale with a combination
of eco-friendly policies and programmes that ensure growth with equity
and development in harmony with environment , with people’s participation
, the country may soon find itself sitting as an ecological time bomb
of gravest consequences .